Thermal Energy
by MdX MaxX
Summary: A ferocious blizzard brought Misty closer to Ash than she had been in three years.  Officially not a oneshot anymore.


___(Commentary: When you're sitting at home because of unusual weather, what better is there to do than write a fanfic about unusual weather? What's up everyone, this is my first Pokémon fanfic, and it's officially not a oneshot anymore! Nearly everyone who reviewed said that they want more, so I must write more. Especially since cliffhangers suck. So stay tuned for more, but in the meantime, enjoy Chapter 1!)_

___Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon._

******Chapter 1: Blizzard!**

The dense snowfall continually thickened the white blanket covering the ground. The ferocious wind pelted the trees and buildings with the white powder. Misty sat on her bed, wrapped in a warm fleece blanket, staring in awe at the intense weather outside. She had remained in that position for quite a while, unable to tear her eyes away from the rare sight.

It was the largest blizzard Kanto had seen in decades. The storm had approached around dawn and had mercilessly swept over the region throughout the early morning. Cerulean, among other northern cities, had been hit particularly hard; the entire city was in a blackout, and all shops, Pokémon Centers, and businesses were closed. The snow had accumulated so much that most could not exit their homes without shovels. Not many would try, however; the wind was still much too fierce.

Misty hadn't been awake for long, but with no power, she quickly felt cold, bored, and isolated. Her sisters no longer lived at the Cerulean Gym with her, and she had carried her Pokémon to Nurse Joy last night following a tough gym battle. There was not much to do other than eat and sleep.

After a few quiet minutes, Misty decided to rummage through her kitchen to find some matches. She thought a few candles might provide a little bit of extra warmth. Still wrapped in her blanket, she slid off her bed and made her way out of the room, making sure to step into some fuzzy slippers. However, before she could make it down the hallway, her ears caught a faint knocking sound coming from the other direction. At first, she dismissed it, but she listened more attentively as the noise persisted.

_'Is that...the front door? Who...?'_

She turned around and made her way toward the pool (which doubles as the battle arena). As she trekked across the enormous room, the knocking became clearer; it was definitely coming from the front door.

Misty apprehensively approached the large glass doors, unsure of who—or what—to expect. Once she reached the door, she paused. She didn't believe in the abominable snowman or anything, but who else would be walking around outside during a blizzard?

Fortunately, she got her answer immediately after the thought. A hand swiped a section of frost from the glass, and then a face attempted to look through the opening. Misty reached out and wiped the condensation from her side of the glass, revealing the face peering through. She instantly recognized the scattered locks of thick, black hair drooping down in front of deep brown eyes, eyes that widened anxiously at the sight of her. Misty's feelings of apprehension immediately changed to worry and panic; she couldn't wait to get the door open.

"Oh God..."

She anxiously fumbled to manually undo the door's locking mechanism; as soon as she did, she grasped the metal handle and tugged until the opening was wide enough for the surprise visitor to squeeze through. The icy air rushed in and snow tumbled inside, but Misty didn't care right now; she only cared about the violently shivering trainer slowly making his way inside.

"Oh, my God, Ash! W-Wha-?"

She rushed to his side and, after grabbing his arm, ushered him inside the door. His skin was icy to the touch; without proper winter attire Ash had quickly fallen victim to the freezing temperatures. Wherever he'd been when the storm had hit him, he'd been outside and completely unprepared.

Misty momentarily released Ash's arm to push the huge door shut. The snow made it difficult, but she managed to push much of the snow back outside. She immediately re-grasped his arm and led him across the enormous arena.

"Ash... _How_ did this happen?"

"S-s-s-sn...snow..." His teeth chattered so much he could hardly get a word out, let alone an explanation.

Misty sighed nervously. "Come on."

She led him through the main hallway to her bedroom. As soon as they got to the room, Misty flung open her closet door and started wildly sifting through her clothes.

"We've gotta find you some dry clothes. Uhh... Here, here's a blanket."

Ash couldn't even reach out for the blanket; Misty quickly got the blanket around his shoulders and returned to the closet, a hectic expression on her face the whole time. A few minutes later, she turned back toward Ash holding bright pink sweatpants and an old T-shirt.

"Sorry, I don't have anything better. Laundry day's today but, you know, power's out." She sighed again. "Okay, I'm gonna try to make this as...not awkward as possible."

Through directions such as "Lift your arms up" and "Put your leg through," Misty managed to get Ash changed out of his soaking outfit (luckily his boxers were mostly dry). He still shivered violently, but at least he could get warmer now.

"Okay, um... Here, you can lay in my bed; hopefully it's warm enough." She reached for the blanket that accidentally got tossed with the wet clothes. "Take this too. It'll help."

After helping Ash get as comfortable as possible under the comforter of her bed, Misty re-wrapped herself in her own blanket and took a seat on the chair by her small desk. At that point, she could let the adrenaline rush cool; she could actually think. And she thought deeply about the second rare sight of the day, arguably more remarkable than the first.

_'Ash... He'll be fine. He's tough; he'll fight any battle with all his might. Even a battle with the elements...'_

She never would have guessed that Ash Ketchum would appear at her doorstep. It'd been almost three years since she had seen him last, so despite the circumstances, she was extremely glad to have him here.

She wondered what he'd been doing with himself this whole time. She wondered what regions he'd had the opportunity to explore and compete in. She wondered about the tournaments, the badges, and all the friends and acquaintances that he'd be sure to ramble about later. She even wondered how Ash could have been enough of a goofball to get himself caught in the largest storm she's ever seen.

But above all, Misty wondered how she could have allowed herself to become so disconnected from her closest friend for so long.

A long while had passed. Misty stared at Ash's quivering figure. He seemed just as cold as he was when he had first gotten into the bed. Her blanket kept her warm enough, and she felt somewhat guilty for not being able to help him as much. She almost wished she was in his position. A few more minutes passed.

_'Wait. I'm still warm. Duh...'_

She stood up.

"Hey, Ash."

"Y-yeah..." His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Are those blankets really working for you?"

He shook his head slowly, still facing away from Misty.

She paused for a few moments, then inched closer to the bed. "Well, uh... I think this might work better."

Misty wasn't sure whether Ash would feel awkward about this, but she assumed feeling awkward would be preferable to freezing.

She gently kicked the slippers off of her feet and unwrapped herself from her blanket. Ash rolled over to face her direction just as she maneuvered to get under the comforter of the bed. Ash, unaware of her intentions, slid closer to the other edge to give her more room. But as she rolled toward him and began to cuddle against him, he understood.

Misty reached under his blanket and slid her arm around his torso. She felt him still shaking vigorously. Ash let out a shaky sigh as Misty pulled him in even closer.

She turned her head to meet his gaze and smiled. "Better?"

Ash responded by sliding his arms around her waist.

"S-s-so w-warm..."

Ash's icy skin caused Misty to shiver after a few seconds, but she was okay with enduring it for the time being. She tucked her head under his and tried to get as comfortable as possible as he thawed out.

A while later, Ash's shivering had become less constant and more intermittent. His skin had approached a more normal temperature, and Misty had stopped feeling cold. She could feel his breath begin to stabilize as she dozed off into a light slumber.

Misty was unsure of how long she had slept. As she regained consciousness, she felt a hand gently running through her long, peach-colored hair. She then realized that the trainer lying beside her was no longer shaking.

She looked up at Ash's face, and he smiled warmly at her in response.

"What's up?"

Misty smiled back. "Ash... You're not shivering."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious."

"Oh, give me a break! I almost thought you'd die of hypothermia!"

Ash chuckled lightly. "Okay, I kid, I kid." He let out a sigh and continued to play with Misty's hair.

"Thanks, Mist."

Misty blushed slightly. "I wouldn't do anything less for my best friend..." She paused and sighed heavily. "Ash, I missed you so much. Why didn't you keep in touch, you idiot?"

Ash chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah... I'm sorry. Lots of stuff's been happening and it's just been hard to think straight. I'll fill you in on everything later... I missed you too, Misty."

Her smile returned. "Thanks. And it's okay. It's sort of my fault, too."

A few minutes of silence passed. Ash continued to gently stroke Misty's hair.

"I, uh, had a little insomnia problem when I was really young," Misty commented. "Like, five years old."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It sucked. But my mom used to help me fall asleep. She would sing a lullaby or two, and she would stroke and play with my hair... kinda like what you're doing now."

"And it worked?"

"Yeah. Somehow. I guess moms just have a magic touch sometimes."

"Oh, yeah, I agree a hundred percent! My mom makes the _best_ lasagna, and w-"

"What is it with you and food?"

"Hey, food is _good_. If it wasn't for food, we'd all be dead."

Misty laughed cheerfully. "Right..."

A few more moments passed.

"Well... If I tried to sing a lullaby, I'd probably bring your insomnia back." Misty chuckled at this. "But... I could stroke your silky, beautiful hair all day..."

Misty blushed furiously; she didn't know how to respond. She didn't know Ash was capable of such a compliment. Luckily for her, the subject changed quickly.

"Hey Mist, that clock right there is blinking twelve."

"Yeah, because the power we-" She paused, then rolled over to face the direction Ash was facing. She gasped at the sight of the clock. "The power's back on!" She rolled back over to find that the wind had died down and the snowfall was reduced to a small flurry. "The storm's over!" She chuckled and excitedly wrapped Ash in a bear hug.

"Why are you hugging me? I didn't turn on the power."

"Do you object?"

"No."

"Okay then."

Misty released her grip after a few more seconds and swiped her hair out of her face. "So, the heating system won't change the temps in here for at least a half hour. How about I go make us some hot chocolate?"

Ash smiled. "That sounds quite marvelous."

Misty chuckled as she rolled off the bed. Ash followed suit.

"And then, we can sit down, relax... and you can fill me in on _how the hell_ you managed to get yourself caught in a _snowstorm_!"

Ash laughed out loud dramatically. "Yes, I will be sure to give you _all_ the details."

Misty just shook her head and smiled. She stepped into her slippers again and headed toward her bedroom door. But she paused before stepping out into the hallway.

"Wait a minute." She turned around to face Ash. "Where's Pikachu?"

"Ah!" Ash maneuvered over to his pile of wet clothes and unclipped his Pokéball harness from the belt loops of his jeans. He chose one of the two Pokéballs, expanded it, and released the latch. Ash's long-time friend materialized before them in a dazzling flash of red light.

"I convinced him to get in the Pokéball rather than freeze."

"Pi?"

Misty squealed in delight. "Pikachu! It's been forever since I've seen you!"

"Pikachu-piii!" Pikachu ecstatically leaped into Misty's arms, and she embraced him lovingly.

"Aww, you're just as cute as ever!" She made her way down the hallway toward the kitchen.

As Ash made his way out of the room, he smiled and muttered to himself, "I could say the same to you, Mist..."

___(Commentary: Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for Chapter 2!) _


End file.
